Fate
by peanut0565
Summary: spoilers to s4, altnerate story line that kicks off right after the finale, if the finale had ended differently that is, Enjoy
1. A New Life

Fate

Chapter 1: A New Life

He stood there standing tall and proud, behind the defense table, in a court room full of chinese citizens he didnt know. His lawyer, if you can call him a lawyer, stood next to him. He did little to no help to actually defend Jack. Jack sighed heavily as the judge came out to read the verdict. He already knew what it would say. He shifted his hands some so the cuffs on his wrists would find a more comfortable place to rest. The judge started to speak, in chinese. His lawyer acted basically as a translater. He sensed the chinese man lean over to him and start to whisper in his ear what the Judge was saying.

"He says you are guilty of the murder of the Chinese consulet, and you are to spend the next 10 years in one of our high secruity labor camps" The lawyer whispers to him. Jack closed his eyes, of course he had been expecting this. The Judge finished speaking and Jack respectfully nods in acknowledgement of his so called punishment. The punishment he does not deserve, but was pushed into, so the US government wouldnt be destoried by 1 covert operation gone bad.

He was glad none his friends or close ones were there to witness this. They would have fought back, He would have, if it werent for these circumstances. He had to defend his country though, even it being charged with something he did not do. He sighed heavily at the thought of being away from home for 10 years. He was already home sick, and it had only been 20 days since his departure from LA. They had taken him by boat. And it wasnt the best of boat rides either, He hadnt expected them to treat him so poorly. They fed him only a piece of bread and a cup of water. They shackled his feet together along with cuffing his hands. They chained the shackles and cuffs to a wall in the cargo bay of the ship. It had been dark all through the 18 day voyage. He had only saw light a few times during that and that was when they fed him.

Once he got to China he was given 2 days to freshen up, under high supervision though. He did not need the 2 days though, after the 2 days he still looked like shit, though now he was wearing their light blue prison clothing, instead of the clothing he had been wearing since he was back in LA. He didnt need the trial to tell him what was going to happen to him. He already knew he was going to prison, for a very long time. Ten years was actually better then he had expected. He had expected them to throw him away for life. Maybe they were being generous, or maybe they thought he wouldnt last that long.

The secruity guards lead Jack onto a train, bound for the high secruity labor camp he was going to serve his 10 years at. They told him the camp would be about 2 hours train ride away. They attached him to a railing in the cargo bay of the train. He sat in darkness the whole ride. He had kept his mouth shut the whole time, trying to figure out what they were saying. He figured he would learn Chinese through hearing them speak so he eased dropped every time he could, trying to get the drift of what they were talking about, trying to understand. 

After 2 hours he was literally thrown from the cargo bay off the train, while still in motion. He hit the dirt hard and rolled some, getting a few scraps. He finally stopped, just laying there in a heap on the dirt ground. He coughed some, trying to make sense of what had happened. He then felt 2 strong sets of arms grab him and hull him to his feet. The one said something, he didnt understand, it was in chinese. It sounded like a question to him. The other responded also in chinese, then they started to drag him to a large building he saw before him. No it was several large buildings, surrounded by a big thick wall. This must be the place, he thought to himself.

He was brought inside the first building, then they let him stand on his own. He glanced around, then saw a man approach him. He was a smaller man then Jack. He wore clothing that of what a chinese army soldier would were, he suspected. The man spoke something in chinese, another question Jack presumed. Jack just stared at him. The chinese man repeated himself. Then out of no where he was hit in the back of the neck, hard, forcing him to drop to his knees. The chains from his shackles on his ankles clanged against the now concrete floor. The man spoke once again in chinese, it sounded like an order this time to Jack. Jack slowly got to his feet and stared intentively at the man. The man spoke again in a happier tone, rewarding Jack for his movement as if. Jack figured the man told him to stand up. The man then started in a rather lengthy speech. None of which Jack could understand, but by the end he was herded of into another building by 2 men, at least twice his body mass, musclar as well.

The two men, Jack assumed they were guards, shoved him roughly into another building. So roughly in the fact that he stumbled over his own feet, falling to the ground. He coughed some from the dirt flying up, and stood up slowly. He realized he was in some sort of barracks type area, filled with bunks. Those bunks were filled with men, they were all laying down. They all looked so fragile. Jack then realized the guards had left.

Jack then started to stumble down the middle aisle of bunks, searching for an empty one. The men just stared at him. He felt their eyes on his every movement. He finally found a free bunk at the back of the barracks. He walked over too it, and was about to sit down when one of the inmates stood infront of him. They said something that Jack could not understand either.

"I dont speak Chinese" Jack spoke in english, hoping to get the idea across. He also shrugged in a gesture saying I dont know what you said. The inmate stared at him, then pushed him backwards.

Jack then figured out what the inmate had propably said to him. Jack then glanced around for another free bunk, but there was none. He then tried for the free bunk again. The man pushed him back again, but Jack was ready for this and stood his ground. The man hissed in frustration throwing a punch at Jack. Of course Jack being Jack moved enough to miss the punch interally. The man charged him, throwing a barage of punches at him. Jack easily defended himself. He then found out that the other inmates were like a brotherhood, a gang, and anyone not in the gang was an enemy. Or thats what Jack thought. And he was right to think that. After awhile of man trying to land a punch. And Jack not wanting to throw one, He wanted to keep a mutual peace among his inmates, but he found out the hard way that, the inmates, all of them hated him. Propably because of what he had use to be. The man was joined by all the other inmates. Jack was overwhelmed, he could take on 5 people at a time, without a weapon, at most, but this was like over 50 people. Fifty people that charged him at once. He quickly found himself on the ground in a fetal position, trying to keep the onslaught of kicks and punches from hitting his vital areas, though it wasnt helping much. He let out a few cries of pain before the men finally were broken up by the guards.

He was thankful for them breaking it up. He glanced up at the guards through his beaten face and smiled slightly in gratitude. That was a mistake, the guards scoffed at him. One kicked him one more time in the stomach, making him yelp in pain. And the other spit on his face. He curled up into the corner, protecting his battered body, as the guards left. He expected the worse, but at this rate, with the inmates being enemies, and the guards also enemies, and him not knowing chinese, he wouldnt survive the year even. This was only day 1 of 3,650.


	2. Routine

Chapter 2: Routine

The next morning, Jack had slowly gotten to his feet. His back ached from sleeping on the cold hard floor. His breathing was staggered, He figured he had at least 1 or 2 broken ribs now. And the shackles on his ankles were rubbing against his skin, creating wounds, the same with the cuffs on his wrists. He only slept for a few hours at most, after he had finally gotten remotely comfortable on the floor. He figured he would try for the bunk again that night. 

He noticed the inmates were already up, and in a singal file line leading to the door. There were 2 guards posted at the door doing something to the men before they left, Jack couldnt tell what it was though. He shuffled into the line, being the last one of them all.

Once they had gotten to Jack. The guards spit on him, both did, as they attached the chain that connected the other prisoner infront of him, to a metal waist bar on himself. They then pushed him forcefully outside as the line began to move. They moved quickly, so fast to a point where Jack could barely keep up, passed a window. Once Jack reached the window he was given a piece of bread and a tin cup of water.

As he was about to eat the bread, the line started moving again. Jack lost his balance and fell down. The others continued moving, and Jack being chained to the line, He was being dragged steadily through muddy beaten down trail. He managed to drop his bread and water, much to his dismay, and tried to stand up. But the mud being so slippery and they were moving at a relatively quick rate, he was unable to get his footing. They continued to drag him. Muffled groans of frustration could be heard through out the long line of men as they picked up the extra slack that they thought Jack could not handle. They left the perimeter of the building, on this trail and continued down the way. The weather was cold and damp. Jack could feel random sharp rocks pierce him as he was being dragged, making new wounds through his thin prison garment, and face. 

After about an hour the line finally stopped. Jack slowly stumbled to his feet, wiping off what ever he could off himself, mostly mud mixed in with some blood. He coughed profusely for a few minutes as the line had stopped. Guards had went down the line of men. They reached Jack, unhooking his chain that linked him to the man infront of him. The guards ushered him violently into another area. This area was just a big empty space with a huge wall around it. It looked like they were building something here.

Jack heard the guards shouting at him in chinese, but he shrugged not knowing what to do. The one guard then proceeded to beat Jack. He kneed him in the stomach, making him drop to his knees instantly grabbing his mid section with his arms. The other guard then joined in by taking out what resembled a night stick and smacked Jack across the face, causing his head to jerk violently to the left. Also causing some whiplash. Jack slowly got to his feet and examined what the others were doing, he then proceeded go and imitate what they were doing. That seemed to be the trick to get the guards off him. 

He moved the barrels of bricks for hours. It seemed like endless hours to him, and finally once they shouted something in chinese. He assumed it said stop, or something like that, because the men had stopped working and formed a line again. Jack hobbled his weak worn out self into the line. The men before him seemed in better condition for this, and maybe he would be too after awhile, but for now he felt as though he could not move another inch.

The line started moving, stopping only for the guards to attach the chain from before to each man again. They then shuffled out back on the trail back to the camp. Jack had barely made it a few feet before collapsing, he had given all he could have that day. They dragged him again the rest of the way back to the barracks building. He did even bother to stand up for the guards to unchain him. The guards put their foot on his chest, pressing down, he yelped in pain, they didnt relieve the pressure, no they put more on as they leaned down and unhooked his chain. Jack closed his eyes and let tears of pain fall from his battered face. The guards finally let up leaving him laying there in the middle of the barracks. He didnt bother to stand up, or try to, he knew he couldnt. He instead crawled into the nearest corner slowly, breathing staggered and shallow. He knew he wouldnt last much of this hell. He curled up in the corner then tried to sleep, to let his body heal a little.

The next morning he woke up to the same thing. Though this day he would beable to walk the whole way there without tripping. He worked until he could work no more, then collapsed. They dragged him back to the barracks. He then curled up in his corner again, trying to keep his body going. It begged for more water, and more food, but Jack could relieve this. He heard his stomach growl, and send pains that he needed more food, but he couldnt. He ignored it.

This was his routine, day in and day out he would go to that place, and hull bricks til he could do it no longer. Each day they would always have to drag him back, his body would not permit the walk back, with its injuries.

Each rock he hit caused a new cut, or scratch, often adding to and old scratch. Soon ones on his arms went straight to the bone. The wounds underneath his shackles and cuffs were also raw, and down to the bone. He had also acquired a scratch that stretched from the top of his left eyebrow down to the middle of his cheek. And also a deep cut along his neck, but it was superficial. His body outline went from rather muscular to all skin and bone, looking very malnurished. He had broken at least 2 ribs, and his wrists. They had healed, and broken again many times during the days. His ankles also had broken many times. And from the trouble he would cause occasionally with the guards and other inmates would only cause him more pain, and breaking of bones. He some how managed to keep going though it was on broken limps, or healed improperly limps that would break from time to time.


	3. Freedom

Chapter 3: Freedom

It had been 3 years since Jack had arrived at the high secruity labor camp. He had progessively gotten worse over the time, and now he was just curled up in the corner of the barracks building. He had no will, or strength for that matter to get up. This had started about a year ago, he just stopped moving, stopped standing up. He finally lost his nerve to keep going, and now he just lay there. The guards were forced to force feed him to keep him alive, thinking he would come around.

Only reason they knew he was alive still was from the staggered shallow breathes coming from his unconcious body, and a violent coughing session from time to time. Everyone just left him alone, they had no use for him, and figured after a few days of rest He would come around. But that never happened, after a year, they grew tired of him laying there in the corner. The guards moved over to his unconcious form and uncuffed his ankles and wrists.

They then carried him out side the area, into a van, placing him in the back. They then drove him into Beijing, to the airport. The guards came out and found the 2 people they were looking for. They were standing exactly where they were told to stand, right infront of their private airplane

"Mr. Almeida? Mr. Palmer?" The guard made sure it was the right people. Tony and Palmer turned around in recognition.

"Where is he?" Palmer asked instantly, he beat Tony to the question. 

"Here" The guards said, both of them moved to the back of the van and opened it up. Tony and Palmer moved over, slightly frightened in the state they would find Jack in. They had failed to get him back soon, but one day there was an unexpected call from the high secruity camp they were holding Jack in. Palmer received this call and they told him that Jack was no longer of any use to them and the states could have him back. Palmer immediatly contacted Tony, knowing he was like one of Jacks' best friends. They then proceeded to go and retreive him, though they feared what condition they would find him in.

Palmer and Tony moved to the back of the van and gasped at Jacks' curled up form. They hadnt expected this. Jack was barely recongizable. He was far too skinny and very malnurished. He had more wounds then neither Palmer nor Tony could ever imagine, what was left of his skin was pale as a ghost, with a hint of dried blood on it. They would prosume him dead if not for the clear sign of the staggered shallow breathing.

Palmer and Tony carefully gathered Jack in their arms, trying not to injure him further, they heard small cries of pain escape their unconcious friend as they carried him to the plane. The guards and the van vanished just as Tony and Palmer had gotten Jack into the plane. 

"Lets get out of here" Palmer said as They set Jack down carefully on the couch that was in the plane.

Tony stayed by Jacks side since then, and hadnt left it til they landed at St. Johns' Hostipal in Los Angeles. Jack had yet to regain conciousness, this worried Palmer and Tony greatly, they had yet to see him stir awake, they wondered if he still would. The doctors immediatly rushed Jack out of their hands and into the Trauma room. Tony and Palmer were to remain in the waiting room until a doctor came to brief them.

Chapter 3: Freedom

It had been 3 years since Jack had arrived at the high secruity labor camp. He had progessively gotten worse over the time, and now he was just curled up in the corner of the barracks building. He had no will, or strength for that matter to get up. This had started about a year ago, he just stopped moving, stopped standing up. He finally lost his nerve to keep going, and now he just lay there. The guards were forced to force feed him to keep him alive, thinking he would come around.

Only reason they knew he was alive still was from the staggered shallow breathes coming from his unconcious body, and a violent coughing session from time to time. Everyone just left him alone, they had no use for him, and figured after a few days of rest He would come around. But that never happened, after a year, they grew tired of him laying there in the corner. The guards moved over to his unconcious form and uncuffed his ankles and wrists.

They then carried him out side the area, into a van, placing him in the back. They then drove him into Beijing, to the airport. The guards came out and found the 2 people they were looking for. They were standing exactly where they were told to stand, right infront of their private airplane

"Mr. Almeida? Mr. Palmer?" The guard made sure it was the right people. Tony and Palmer turned around in recognition.

"Where is he?" Palmer asked instantly, he beat Tony to the question. 

"Here" The guards said, both of them moved to the back of the van and opened it up. Tony and Palmer moved over, slightly frightened in the state they would find Jack in. They had failed to get him back soon, but one day there was an unexpected call from the high secruity camp they were holding Jack in. Palmer received this call and they told him that Jack was no longer of any use to them and the states could have him back. Palmer immediatly contacted Tony, knowing he was like one of Jacks' best friends. They then proceeded to go and retreive him, though they feared what condition they would find him in.

Palmer and Tony moved to the back of the van and gasped at Jacks' curled up form. They hadnt expected this. Jack was barely recongizable. He was far too skinny and very malnurished. He had more wounds then neither Palmer nor Tony could ever imagine, what was left of his skin was pale as a ghost, with a hint of dried blood on it. They would prosume him dead if not for the clear sign of the staggered shallow breathing.

Palmer and Tony carefully gathered Jack in their arms, trying not to injure him further, they heard small cries of pain escape their unconcious friend as they carried him to the plane. The guards and the van vanished just as Tony and Palmer had gotten Jack into the plane. 

"Lets get out of here" Palmer said as They set Jack down carefully on the couch that was in the plane.

Tony stayed by Jacks side since then, and hadnt left it til they landed at St. Johns' Hostipal in Los Angeles. Jack had yet to regain conciousness, this worried Palmer and Tony greatly, they had yet to see him stir awake, they wondered if he still would. The doctors immediatly rushed Jack out of their hands and into the Trauma room. Tony and Palmer were to remain in the waiting room until a doctor came to brief them.


	4. His Condition

Chapter 4: His Condition

David Palmer had to leave before the doctor came out to brief them on Jacks' condition. Palmer told Tony to call him immediatly after he spoke with the doctor himself. Michelle had rushed to the hostipal and arrived just shortly after Palmer had to leave. Michelle came into the waiting room to find Tony sitting down in one of the chairs with his face cupped into his hands. He looked like he was having a long day. Michelle sat down next to Tony and rested her hand on his back.

"He will make it" She reassured him. Tony glanced at her then hugged her.

"You didnt see him though...Hes pretty bad" Tony was being negative. 

"This is Jack we are talking about though" Michelle tried to comfort him.

"Yea, I guess your right" Tony sighed hugging her more. The doctor then approached him.

"Are you the one that brought Mr. Bauer in?" He asked. Tony pulled back turning around to stand up, nodding.

"How is he?" Michelle asked. The doctor rubbed his neck slightly, like Tony would do when he was about to give bad news. This sent a chill down Michelles' back because she knew this far to well, and prepared for the worse.

"We moved him up to ICU now. He is still alive, but is in a comatose state, due to all his injuries. He seems to have broken nearly all his bones at least once within the recent years. Where was he?" The doctor asked.

"In a Labor Camp in China for 3 years" Tony answered.

"Well that explains quite a bit. He is very malnurished, and it looks as if they kept him in poor conditions and rarely fed him. It also looks like he had received beatings everyday, and was propably over worked." The doctor explained. "We are unsure at the moment if he will even regain conciousness, and even if he does, the recovery will be a long process, we will propably have to break and reset every bone so it heals properly. We will do that once he regains conciousness." The doctor continued to explain. Michelle clung onto Tonys' arm, gasping quietly at mention of all Jacks' injuries. What all had they done to him? She thought.

"May we see him?" Tony asked.

"Of course, follow me" The doctor lead them up a level in the hostipal and into Jacks' room. 

Tony and Michelle gasped at his form as they entered the room. His body laid thick in bandages, then covered with a blanket. He had several machines hooked up to him along with an IV, that administered many pain killers and chemicals to keep his fluids up. One machine kept track of his heart, and blood pressure. The other told the rate of which the medicine was being administered into him. And the last one had his temperature on it, which was far below what it was suppose to be.

"We are very optimistic that he will regain conciousness" The doctor gave some words of comfort before leaving them. Tony approached Jack, placing his hand on Jacks' bandaged one. Silent tears fell from Michelles face as she approached Jack. She hated to see him in this state, it was just tearing her apart.

"We could have gotten him back sooner...and saved him from this..." Tony spoke quietly to himself, thinking of all the things they could have done. They had just basically gave up on getting Jack back at all after a year of trying to talk to the Chinese. They should have tried harder, Tony thought to himself.

Chapter 4: His Condition

David Palmer had to leave before the doctor came out to brief them on Jacks' condition. Palmer told Tony to call him immediatly after he spoke with the doctor himself. Michelle had rushed to the hostipal and arrived just shortly after Palmer had to leave. Michelle came into the waiting room to find Tony sitting down in one of the chairs with his face cupped into his hands. He looked like he was having a long day. Michelle sat down next to Tony and rested her hand on his back.

"He will make it" She reassured him. Tony glanced at her then hugged her.

"You didnt see him though...Hes pretty bad" Tony was being negative. 

"This is Jack we are talking about though" Michelle tried to comfort him.

"Yea, I guess your right" Tony sighed hugging her more. The doctor then approached him.

"Are you the one that brought Mr. Bauer in?" He asked. Tony pulled back turning around to stand up, nodding.

"How is he?" Michelle asked. The doctor rubbed his neck slightly, like Tony would do when he was about to give bad news. This sent a chill down Michelles' back because she knew this far to well, and prepared for the worse.

"We moved him up to ICU now. He is still alive, but is in a comatose state, due to all his injuries. He seems to have broken nearly all his bones at least once within the recent years. Where was he?" The doctor asked.

"In a Labor Camp in China for 3 years" Tony answered.

"Well that explains quite a bit. He is very malnurished, and it looks as if they kept him in poor conditions and rarely fed him. It also looks like he had received beatings everyday, and was propably over worked." The doctor explained. "We are unsure at the moment if he will even regain conciousness, and even if he does, the recovery will be a long process, we will propably have to break and reset every bone so it heals properly. We will do that once he regains conciousness." The doctor continued to explain. Michelle clung onto Tonys' arm, gasping quietly at mention of all Jacks' injuries. What all had they done to him? She thought.

"May we see him?" Tony asked.

"Of course, follow me" The doctor lead them up a level in the hostipal and into Jacks' room. 

Tony and Michelle gasped at his form as they entered the room. His body laid thick in bandages, then covered with a blanket. He had several machines hooked up to him along with an IV, that administered many pain killers and chemicals to keep his fluids up. One machine kept track of his heart, and blood pressure. The other told the rate of which the medicine was being administered into him. And the last one had his temperature on it, which was far below what it was suppose to be.

"We are very optimistic that he will regain conciousness" The doctor gave some words of comfort before leaving them. Tony approached Jack, placing his hand on Jacks' bandaged one. Silent tears fell from Michelles face as she approached Jack. She hated to see him in this state, it was just tearing her apart.

"We could have gotten him back sooner...and saved him from this..." Tony spoke quietly to himself, thinking of all the things they could have done. They had just basically gave up on getting Jack back at all after a year of trying to talk to the Chinese. They should have tried harder, Tony thought to himself.


	5. Complications

Chapter 5: Complications

It had been a week since Tony and Palmer had brought Jack back to the United States. He had yet to regain conciousness yet, but seemed to be improving slowly. Tony and Michelle had been taking shifts of staying with Jack. They didnt want him to wake up alone in propably a strange place for him.

It was the Tuesday, the exact day a week ago Tony had brought him back. Tony was sitting comfortably next to Jacks' bedside. Nothing had changed since he had been there last. This was both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. The good thing is that he hasnt changed, and the bad thing also being that he hadnt changed yet. Tony wanted him to wake up so badly, but as the days progressed the hope of him waking up was fading slowly.

The doctor kept saying that he just needed some time. That he would wake up in his own good time. The doctor also suggested talking to him as if he is awake, fimilar voices may help him wake up. Tony caressed Jacks' bandaged hand, muttering things to him quietly. He spoke to Jack about anything and everything. Mainly he was trying to coax him to wake up. Tony didnt think it was working.

Until that morning he finally felt some movement from Jacks' unconcious form, his hand twitched in Tony's hand. Tony withdrew quickly, almost stunned by it, then smiled looking to his face. His once peaceful serene expression now contorted one that was in slight pain. The doctor couldnt give him enough pain medication to take all the pain away, in fear that would keep him unconcious. He gave enough just to keep him resting peacefully, though when he did wake he would feel some minor discomforts.

"Jack? Come on Buddy Open your eyes" Tony encouraged him. Jacks face twisted in a more pained expression, he started to twitch, and shake. Suddenly violent coughing erupted from him, and didnt stop. Between the coughs there were gasps of breathe. His eyes were squeezed shut.

"Come on Jack this isnt Funny" Tony panicked slightly, this wasnt right, he felt it. He started muttering in chinese inbetween his coughs, sounding desperate. His fingers dug into the mattress he was on. Tony removed his oxygen mask to see if that helped, but it didnt. Jack continued to cough violently, and now blood was spewing slowly from his lips and onto around his mouth. Tony panicked more at the sight of the blood. He quickly turned on his heel and bolted for the door. 

"Help!" He called for help as nurses flocked to Jacks' room, along with a doctor. Tony then scanned the room as it was flooded by nurses and a couple of doctors, he was pushed to the wall. He covered his mouth with his hand as he saw the machine keeping track of his blood pressure had skyrocketed, and his heartbeat had become staggered and irregular. The machine that stated his respiration had also gone off the whack. The doctors worked on Jack quickly as as fast as they could. Two nurses went over to Tony and ushered him out telling him he doesnt need to be here for this. Of course Tony refused.

"I want to know whats wrong with him!" Tony hissed at the nurses who pushed him out of the room. 

"We will tell you as soon as we know!" One of them said then shut the door on him.

Tony hadnt realized he was out of breathe, he took a deep breathe or too, and calmed his breathing down. He then ran his hands threw his hair. How much more of this could he take emotionally? Jack was in there fighting for his life, and all Tony could do was stand by and wait. This was nerve wrecking. He felt so useless. He felt as if he could have done more, should have done more. He hadnt realized tears were falling from his eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hands. He then began to pace the hallway, waiting impatiently. He didnt even know what was going wrong.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, the doctors and nurses vacated the room. Tony slowly entered again to find one had left. The one from the start. He was inserting something into Jacks' IV. Tony glanced at Jack then realized something was different now. There was a tube sticking up from his mouth. They had to intibate him. Tony gasped at this sight, it seems Jack had only gotten worse now. The doctor turned around at hearing Tonys' gasp. His face was harden, and sad, with empathy.

"We had a few complications, we didnt realize he was suffering from an illness too, he has a rare sickness that can sprout from the conditions he lived through. He had a fever, that had just broken when he started coughing, when you alerted us. If you had been mere seconds later, we propably would not have been able to fix the problem. We are giving him antibiotics now to cure this, but that is all we can do. The rest is up to him. All we can do now is wait, and see if his fever goes down. And once it does, I am almost certain that he will wake from this comatose state. Its all just a matter of time now" The doctor explained.


	6. Waking Up

Chapter 6: Waking Up

A few days past since they treated Jack again for the illness he had, the doctors said he was good now, and his temperature was now near normal. Tony stayed by his side for the most part. There were only a few times were Michelle was able to peel Tony out of the room and go get some rest he so sorely needed. Michelle couldnt keep Tony away for more then 12 hours at a time if she was even that lucky. Michelle was also worried and concerned for Jack, but Tony was worried far more then she. She realized threw this ordeal how close Tony really was to Jack, and prayed Jack to wake soon.

It had been a day since they took the tube out of Jacks' throat, offically declaring him healed from the illness. Tony had been sitting with him ever since then, now fully rested again after the day before Michelle literally dragged him from the room. Tony didnt put up too much of an arguement he was really tired in fact, so he did go home freshin up and slept, staying away from Jack for as long as he could before his concern for him got the better of him and he returned.

He was zoned out when he felt Jacks' hand flex from under his. He was alerted awake then looking at Jacks face. His eyes then fluttered open, wincing some from the light then opening fully. Jack scanned the area then laid his eyes on Tony, who was smiling.

"Welcome Back" Tony said. Jack stayed silent, almost as if he didnt know what to do. He sat up some, wincing in pain and dizzyness. Also jerking his hand away from Tonys' He became more alert with this, and started to struggle some. He spoke something in Chinese, a question Tony thought. He repeated himself several times.

"Calm Down Jack" Tony placed his hand on Jacks' shoulder. Jack jerked away again continuing to speak in chinese, asking questions Tony figured. Tony finally realized that Jack did not remember english. He sighed and stood up going to the door.

"I need someone that can speak chinese" He asked one of the nurses that were by the room at the time. Tony glanced back to Jack, who was staring straight at him, speaking in a panicked tone in chinese. Tony waited impatiently then finally a woman came to him.

"Can you translate for me please? He doesnt seem to remember english" Tony asked her. She came in. Jacks eyes immediatly when to her. She greeted him in chinese. He spoke a mile a minute, almost too fast for the translater to comprehend. Tony looked to her as if what was he saying was written in his expression.

"He keeps asking where is he, and what happened...over and over again" The translater looked to Tony as did Jack. Tony calmed himself some and started to explain slowly, as the translater translated to Jack. Jack first had his eyes on the translater, then realized Tony was the one saying the words, it was just the translater made him understand it. Jack moved his eyes over to Tony who was staring straight at him as he spoke. As the explanation ended Jack had calmed down immensely. He spoke to the translater after Tony finished.

"He says Thank You, and apologizes that he doesnt remember any english" The translater looked to Tony. Tony smiled some.

"Tell him no problem, he can learn it again" Tony looked to Jack again. The woman translated it again.


	7. Remembering

_Chapter 7: Remembering _

The woman Tony had gotten to translate them left after a few minutes, she had places to be. Tony understood this, and called CTU for them to bring over a translater until Jack could re learn the english language. CTU said it wouldnt be til morning til a translater was able to get to them, leaving Tony with out a clue of what to do. Michelle had come once she got word from Tony that Jack had awoken.

"Jack..." Michelle sighed in relief coming in the room. Tony had been sitting in the same chair he had been sitting in before, seemingly asleep. Jack sat there adjusting every now and then, when he laid his eyes apon Michelle in the doorway coming towards him.

"Michelle..." He trailed off in chinese. He stopped after a second realizing she didnt understand him. There was another long silence.

"Im glad your awake" Michelle put her hand on his. He pulled away looking down at the blanket apon him, sighing. Michelle took note of the sadden expression.

"Everything is going to be fine" She smiled weakly. He looked at her. She saw defeat in his eyes.

"i am...sorry" He sounded out each word like he was a immigrant learning the language for the first time. He looked to her hoping he said what he ment to say, but not really sure. He remembered the words, but he wasnt sure if he was using them in the right order. 

"Sorry for what?" She looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. She thought tony said he didnt seem to remember english. Of course he stumbled along with the words, he seemed much for fluent in chinese then english, but he seemed to remember. 

"I...do not...remember...english...well" He appeared to be having the same troubles as a first time learner. Though he managed to say what he needed too.

"Your doing great, Jack, dont worry you will remember" She spoke slowly so he would understand. He smiled weakly.

"when i...went there...first...i did not understand...them...and now...i am back...and i dont understand you..." He spoke stopping from time to time trying to think of the right words.

"It took..me...months...to learn...the chinese..." He stumbled along slowly, it was slowly getting easier for him though. Michelle thought at least.

"Trust me, you will be speaking perfect English in no time again" Michelle smiled at him.

"how long will I be...here?" He asked, he had paused, propably searching for the right word, which was hostipal, but he couldnt remember the noun and stayed to the ones he remembered faintly. 

"Awhile, alot has happened" Michelle answered, she glanced over to Tony who had stirred awake.

"I fell asleep?" He asked rubbing his eyes looking between Jack and Michelle.

"Yes" Jack said nodding his head.

"Your remembering english now?" Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes" He said again.

"Good, We wont need that translater then" Tony smiled a little. "How are you feeling?" He continued, stretching in his chair a little.

"I...hurt" He couldnt find the word he was searching for, and confusion was well read on his face.

"We can take care of that" Michelle smiled moving out of the room to get the doctor.

"I am happy to be back" Jack looked to Tony, smiling a little. 

"So am I" Tony agreed.

"How long...was I there?" Jack asked. He had lost count of the days he was there after the first few months.

"3 years" Tony sighed. 

"It felt much long..er...then...3 years" He stumbled on the words again.


	8. Misunderstanding

_Chapter 8: Misunderstanding_

It had been 5 hours since Jack had awoken, and unwillingly Tony was pulled out of the room to get some rest. Michelle pushed him out along with herself, since it had been way past midnight and both were dead tired. Michelle flipped the tv on for Jack so he would not just sit there in silence then forced Tony and herself back to their house for some sleep. She kept telling Tony that Jack would be fine, and he could come back in the morning after he had slept some, took a shower, and ate something.

That morning, Tony came walking in hostipal around 9am. Michelle said he had fallen asleep once he hit the mattress. She had to go to work today, and said shed be there after her shift was over. Tony just turned into the hallway that Jacks' room was on and stopped in utter shock. He saw some nurses run in Jacks' room, and he heard yelling, from various voices. He didnt know what to think, well he thought Jacks' condition had worsen over night. He quickly sprinted down the hallway and hung a turn into Jacks' room.

He couldnt believe his eyes. The nurses were working hard to hold Jack down, as one was preparing a sryinge. Jack was struggling and yelling in chinese at them and the nurses telling him to calm down.

"Whats going on!" Tony asked as this chaos was going on. Jack glanced at Tony, and stopped struggling for a second, the nurses trying to hold him down caught a sigh of relief. Jack started to struggle again at the sight of the sryinge.

"We are just trying to help!" The nurses were telling Jack, but that wasnt helping, he didnt understand them. He just went on rapid fire chinese, shouting at them. He glanced to Tony with begging eyes.

"Tony! Pleaseee Donttt Let them hurttt me anymoreeee" He called to Tony. Tony sighed in pity, and confusion. He stood by the back wall watching all this. Tony was amazed at how strong he was, he could still struggle with 5 nurses on him

"Jack they arent going to hurt you!" Tony tried to calm him with words.. Jack only struggled more, finally the team of nurses were able to keep him still, the other nurse set the syringe down and placed restrains on Jacks' wrists.

"He doesnt need those" Tony said. 

"Yes, Hes a danger to himself and others" The nurse defended her action. Tony glared at her. He knew Jack wouldnt do this without a reason. He seemed frightened to Tony.

"Tony! Please Dont let them hurt me, PLEASE!" Jack begged Tony more, trying to squirm in the restraints as the nurse came at him slowly with the syringe. The other nurses left the room leaving Tony and the one with the syringe.

"You left us no choice Mr. Bauer" The nurse said putting the sryinge in Jacks' arm vein. Jack squirmed more then stopped as soon as the needle was in and the nurse was injecting the chemical into him.

"Tony...pleaseeeee" Jack begged in a desperate fearful voice one last time before his eyes shut and his body went limp.

"What did you give him!" Tony was worried that jack just fell unconcious like that, maybe all that struggling wore him out, highly unlikely though. It had to be what the nurse gave him.

"It was a sedative so he would calm down" The nurse said then started to place new bandages on Jacks' unconcious form.

"Why was he struggling against you?" Tony asked, approaching them slowly. 

"I was trying to change his bandages, I think he thought i was trying to hurt him" The nurse explained. Tony sunk his head, thinking about it.


	9. Trusting No One

_Chapter 9: Trusting No One _

Tony stayed his his side trying not to fall asleep himself. He knew Michelle would be by any time now. Tony had his head leaned against his chest, he finally fell asleep just sitting there in that chair, though he willed himself against it. 

Four hours later Tony was jerked away by a small yelp of pain. He jerked his head upwards towards Jack who was trying to curl up into a ball but couldnt because his wrists were restrained to the bed rails. Tears falling from his eyes as he continued to pull on the restraints, whimpering.

"Jack!" Tony tried to gain his attention, but got no response.

"Calm down Jack!" The second time he got a glance then Jack returned to pulling on the restaints. Jacks' wrists were starting to bruise from him pulling so hard.

"You are only going to hurt yourself more Jack Stop" He tried to calm Jack down, after realizing the bruising. Jack still presisted to pull on the restraints.

"Take these off Now Tony! Please!" Jack whimpered pulling on them more. Then They were silenced when they heard some sickening cracking sounds. Jack yelped louder in pain, his arms went limp.

"It hurttssss..." Jack said after a moment of silence, knowing exactly what he had done.

"Its alright, Let me go get someone" Tony was instantly on his feet, and out to the doorframe. He nearly powed Michelle down in the process, she was just about to open the door.

"Whats going on!" Michelle asked, concerned by the outburst.

"I need a doctor" Tony said quickly then jolting towards the doctor that was Jacks' doctor for the time being, He ushered him into Jacks' room. Michelle was already in there trying to calm Jack down more, and figure out what happened.

The doctor went to try and examine Jack only to be meet by him squirming away. Tony came behind him as well. 

"Stay away!" Jack hissed through his pained voice at the doctor.

"Jack Hes only trying to help!" Tony tried to calm him down. Jack only pulled more away, consequenently pulling on his already re-broken arms, causing him more pain.

"Tony Dont let him touch me Pleaseeee" Jack looked at Tony begging him to call the doctor off.

"Hes Not going to Hurt You Jack" Tony tried to reassure him.

"Im only trying to help" The doctor said as well, trying to calm him down.

"Dont Touch me!" Jack yelled at them furiously, still trying to pull away from them.

"The Doctor Will Make The Pain Go Away!" Tony continued to try and get through to Jack. The doctor felt there was no other choice and went to grab a sedative.

"No i can get through to him still, Just give me time" Tony whispered to the doctor who was preparing the sedative, then turned his attentions back on Jack.

"They are going to hurt me more Tony! Please Help Me!" Jack whimpered yanking more, but only causing more pain to himself.

"They are trying to help you Jack!" Tony pleaded with him, trying to touch his shoulder, but Jack jerked away.

"I have to do this, before he hurts himself more" The doctor whispered, ready to push the needle into Jacks' vein. Tony nodded slowly in acknowledgement and backed off. The doctor was fast in putting the sedative in. Before Jack went into complete unconciousness he gave Tony a look, a look of betrayal. As if Tony betrayed him. Tony was hurt by this, but he knew it had to be done. At that rate Jack would only hurt himself more. The doctor went to examine, and confirmed that Jack had rebroken both his wrists. He removed the restraints and reset the bone, as Tony went off to the side where Michelle was. She was in utter shock by the whole scene. After a few moments of silence she finally spoke again.

"I finally got in contact with Kim, She and Chase should be here tomorrow morning" She stated.

"I am not sure if they should see Jack like this..." Tony observed. 

"Well they are coming now anyways, you shouldnt deny Kim to see her father..." Michelle sighed."She might help Jack to be more trusting even..." She continued.

"Maybe..." Tony was still uneasy by this. He glanced back to the doctor as he was putting the braces on Jacks' wrists and putting the restraints back on.

"The restraints arent nessecary!" Tony intervined.

"The nurses told me that he almost attacked one of them earlier today, I need to keep them on for the safety of himself and others" The doctor explained.

"But that wont make him trust you any more, its only going to make it worse for you guys" Tony tried.

"Sorry I cannot take them off" The doctor said, he wasnt going to back down. Tony glared at him for a few seconds. The doctor didnt back down. Tony sighed heavily accepting this small defeat, though this was only going to keep getting worse by these restraints.


	10. Fimilar Strangers

_Chapter 10: Fimilar Strangers _

Tony explained to Michelle what happened when he had came in that morning. Michelle sighed heavily after knowing full well that Tony wouldnt leave Jack that night. She was defeated, and decided to stay with him. They fell asleep in the chairs that night. Tony awoke early the next morning, to find Jack had awoken before him again and was hard at work again to try and get the restraints off. Michelle was sleeping sounding in the other chair.

"Morning..." Tony yawned, looking at his watch which read 7am. Jack glanced at him, then edged away to the other side of his bed slightly. Tony raised an eyebrow, confused by this action.

"Whats wrong?" He asked. Jack ignored him and went back to trying to get his arms free.

"Jack?" Tony asked thinking maybe Jack didnt hear him. Jack ignored him still. Tony sighed heavily, moving towards Jack placing his hand on Jacks' shoulder. Jack jerked away from him, sending him a brief cold glare, then went back to what he was doing.

"Jack stop it they arent coming off" Tony said in a concerned way, he definitly didnt want Jack to hurt himself again. Jack continued to give him the cold shoulder.

"Please Stop It Jack, Your going to Hurt yourself again" Tony begged with him, grabbing his hands gently making him stop. Jack then gave him another harsh glare with the hint of hurt in his expression.

"Dont Touch me Tony" He hissed. Tony didnt let go. Jack continued to glare at him with the 'dont fuck with me' stare, the ones he is so good at giving, but Tony didnt back down.

"Let Go of Me!" Jack nearly shouted at him.

"Stop pulling against the restraints and I will" Tony said simply. Jack cursed in chinese under his breathe, and relaxed his limps again. Tony let go of his hands smiling on the inside for the small victory. Jack adverted his attention else were, ignoring Tony again. Tony looked to the floor then to Michelle who had just woken up, propably during the middle of that little conversation.

"morning Jack.." Michelle said standing up and walking over to the bed, by Tony. Jack looked to Michelle and smiled weakly, followed by a few words in chinese.

"I think we should still get a translater for you Jack..." Michelle commented, and suggested. Jack looked to her again not exactly sure what she had said.

"Tony Im gonna go get one, so we dont have any misunderstandings" Michelle said then left the room. Jack looked at the ground off to the side of the bed opposite of where Tony was sitting. Silence fell in the room.

Michelle called CTU and requested for a chinese translater. They said the translater would be there in an hour or 2 tops. When she hung up the phone she noticed Kim and Chase were making their way towards her. 

"Good Morning Michelle" Chase smiled, Kim also greeted her. Both were anxious to see Jack, Michelle could tell that from plain sight.

"Just a few things before you go in, Jack doesnt remember much English, he can only remember a few words, Im getting a chinese translater down here which should be here in an hour or so" Michelle prepped them.

"Also you must be gental, hes in a very fragile state of mind right now, and is having trouble trusting people again..." Michelle Finished the slide the door open for Kim and Chase to enter. Silence was in the room. Tony was down at his hands as if he had done something wrong and Jack was looking somewhere else, trying to ignore Tony. 

"Jack..." Michelle got his attention as he glanced at the new comers. They looked fimilar to him but he couldnt place names to their faces.

"Dad!" Kim went over to him and was about to hug him, but Jack cowered away by the sudden advancement. He stared fearfully at Kim. Kim felt a sting of hurt almost then pulled back.

"Im so glad your okay" Kim smiled weakly. Chase just stood by with Michelle. Jack scanned her, trying to figure out who it was, she did seem offly fimilar to him but he couldnt place a name. He asked who she was in chinese, only to be slammed with silence. He then kicked himself mentally, for thinking they might know chinese. But so far none of them had, he sighed in frustration.


	11. Translater

_Chapter 11: The Translater _

There was silence in the room for the remaining time until the translater got there. The silence was kind of erie, but Kim had quieted down after she tried speaking to Jack but didnt get threw, only got a response in chinese.

Finally the translater came in.

"I am Jacklyn, the translater you requested for?" Jacklyn greeted the others, then address Jack. She greeted him and he did the same, well from what everyone else thought. They started to converse quickly, especially Jack, he was doing more of the talking. All the others were just on the edge of their seats hoping Jacklyn would stop the talking and translate for them in a second. Finally there was a pause.

"He says he apologizes that he doesnt remember english so well, and asks who the girl that tried to hug him was, he says she and the new guy that came in look really fimilar but he doesnt remember the names" Jacklyn explained.

"I am Kim, his daughter, and this is Chase, my husband" Kim said with a hint of hurt in her tone. She couldnt believe that her father had forgotten about her, but remembered Tony and Michelle. Or did they go threw the same type of thing when he first came back? She pushed the thoughts to the side of her head as Jacklyn began to translate back to Jack. They heard a gasp escape him, as if the light bulb turned on and he remembered instantly. He spoke to Jacklyn for a minute then stopped, wanting her to translate.

"He says he remembers now, and He is sorry for not remembering...and he loves you" Jacklyn translated then approached Jacks' side. He whispered something into her ear, and she whispered back. He then turned to them and smiled weakly.

"I am Sorry Kim, I am so sorry" He said, then glanced at Jacklyn quickly, as if asking if he said it correctly. She nodded yes he did, then he glanced back to Kim. Tears started to fall from her face as she moved over to him and hugged him gently. He accepted this and wanted to return it but his hands were bounded to the bed railing. He glanced over to Jacklyn, saying something in chinese.

"Can we remove these?" Jacklyn looks over to Tony.

"The doctor said no, hes been too rough on the doctors" Tony answered somberly. Jacklyn translated to Jack. Kim had pulled back from the embracing by then just listening. Jack started to speak to Jacklyn, anger and fear evident in his tone. Jacklyn tried to calm him down but after a minute there was silence.

"He says he doesnt trust the doctors, He says they were trying to hurt him earlier, and now they tied him down, they have yet to give him a reason to trust them" Jacklyn explained.

"Even if he doesnt see it he is getting better because of their help, and they will be able to help more if he doesnt struggle like he is" Tony sighed heavily. Jacklyn translated. Jack sighed heavily looking to Tony. 

"I...will...stop...struggling..." He paused between each word making sure he used the right words, then looked to Jacklyn making sure he said it right, She nodded and smiled happily.


	12. Unexpected

_Chapter 12: Unexpected _

The translater came by daily to help Tony, Michelle, Chase, and Kim understand Jack and Jack to understand them. Jack seemed to be catching onto the english pretty quickly and was using more english then before. Within a few days they would be able to go without the translater.

The doctors finally took the restraints off the last day the translater would be there. Jack had slept alot but the doctors said that was helping him. Kim and Chase were coming in less and less as the time passed, they were starting to feel more comfortable that Jack was getting better, and both of them had to return to work. They still stopped in at least every other day though.

Tony walked in hostipal that morning to sit with Jack again as usual. Jack had given him a few days of the cold shoulder but finally forgave him just the other day. Tony turned to down the corridor that lead to Jacks' room. He eyed it suspiciously as there were a few police officers around. He thought that was strange but shrugged it off as he continued to head towards Jacks' room. He then realized alot of the officers were surrounded Jacks' door. He was confused now, along with concerned now.

"Excuse me Officer? Whats going on?" Tony asked one of them.

"We are investigating a murder scene, now please back off" Tony was immediatly set to alert mode with that sentence. He was also very confused. Tony turned to one of the nurses that helped Jack alot lately.

"What happened?" Tony asked the nurse. 

"Dr. Ibly was found murdered in Jacks' room, Jack was no where to by found, No one knows what happened, we just found Dr. Ibly dead" The nurse explained. Tony listened intentively almost not even believing his ears. They think Jack did it, he thought to himself.

He rushed towards Jacks' room to find the door ajar, the doorway was taped up with police 'dont cross' tape. He looked in and was almost horrified by the sight. Blood was all over the floor, Bloody footprints everywhere, even leading out of the room. He thought the officers propably didnt notice this, he glanced down at the floor and saw the bloody footprints trail out down the corridor, the blood getting less and less with each print. He ran along the trail. He reached the doors to outside the hostipal before the bloody footprints ended. He jolted outside and glanced for more footprints but found none. He scanned the area for any clues of what happened. It was the emergency bay of the hostipal, and it was vacant. He took a few deep breathes trying to think, figure out what was going on. Jack wouldnt kill anyone without a reason, Jack couldnt have been the one to kill him, Tony was dead set on that. But what happened then, he wondered. All the clues pointed to Jack. Though Tony did find it very hard to believe, all the clues did point to Jack. Tony knew he had to find Jack, he had to figure out what happened.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed CTU, Michelle was there. She would help him track down Jack.

"Dessler." Michelle answered her phone.

"Hey Its Tony, I need some help" Tony said urgently.

"What Happened Tony?" Michelle felt the urgency in his voice and got right to the point. Tony explained what happened.

"Okay...go back to the police, get all the information they have gotten from the case and get back to me with the details" Michelle said after a few moments of silence, she ran threw the list of possibilities of what happened. She came to the conclusion that all the clues had pointed to Jack killing the doctor, but she wouldnt believe that just as Tony. They both knew him too well, and they knew he wouldnt do this. At least without a reason. But what had really happened, the thought running both their minds.


	13. Missing

_Chapter 13: Missing _

"Heres the security tapes from that hallway during the times we suspect Dr. Ibly was murdered in" The secruity guard hit play on the tape. Tony watched intentively, this was all he could get his hands on without the police noticing him. He knew he had to find Jack before they did.

He watched the tape in fast-forward, nothing out of the ordinary, a few nurses went in and out of Jacks room, and Dr. Ibly entered the room alone, and a few minutes after Tony told him to let the tape play at normal pace. He watched scanning everything as Jacks' door was opened slowly, he saw Jacks' head glance out scanning everything, trying to be silent and unnoticeable. The tape was in black and white but Tony could tell there was blood on Jacks' face. He watched Jack edge out of the room and take off quickly towards the hostipal exit, Tony was amazed at how well he could move for his state of being. Tony played the tape over again, searching for anything and everything that could give him some sort of lead towards where Jack had went. Tony had paused it once Jack had fully entered the corridor, he had been holding his right arm close to his body, and his right hand was holding his throat.

Tony then glanced to the secruity guard. "Do you have any secruity cameras looking at the emergency bay?" He asked.

"Umm...theres one...here it is" The secruity guard pulled out another tape and swapped it with the one in the VCR already.

"Thank you" Tony smiled as the secruity guard nodded then pressed play on that one. Tony scanned threw it in fast forward mode as the other one and then he stopped as he saw Jacks' figure rush out of the building. Tony watched Jack jerk his head from left to right, trying to figure out which direction, Tony presumed, then he jolted off warely towards the right, and escaped into an alley, and that is the last footage he saw of Jack. It was a small lead, but hopefully enough of one for Tony to find Jack.

"Do you mind if I take these with me?" Tony asked the secruity guard.

"mmm...the police will want to see these sooner or later" He sounded unsure.

"I need to find him before the police do, please let me take them" Tony nearly begged him, trying not to sound desperate but he did anyways.

"I could lose my job for this" The secruity guard mentioned before handing both tapes to him.

"O thank you so much" Tony took the tapes smiling in gratitude towards the secruity guard then jolted out of the room where the secruity tapes were.

He made his way quietly through the hostipal, thinking to himself, their secruity isnt very good, seriously a wounded person got through their hands. He went outside and found the camera, he then found the alley that Jack had disappeared into. He figured out it had been a good 5 to 6 hours since Dr. Ibly was murdered and Jack vanished. He didnt have much hope of actually being on a lead, and figured Jack was long gone. He knew even if Jack had been injuried he was the master of going dark, and when he wanted to disappear he would disappear. The lead is propably dead, but he had just a little hope left that there would be another clue. He walked into the alley scanning around carefully, it was a dark dank place. He felt the shivers go down his spine as he passed the first garbage canister. He looked behind the large one and found some discarded clothing. A hostipal gown and Jacks' wrist band. His mind raced back to the footage he saw of Jack leaving his room, He instantly figured out why he was holding his right arm so close to his body, he was holding cloths. Tony sighed heavily as he knelt down to the pile of discarded clothing and fumbled through it, they were stained with blood. Tony instantly thought of Dr. Ibly, it must have been his blood. He glanced around for any more clues, anything to lead him onto something else.

He then randomly laid his eyes on the other buildings' back door, it was slightly ajar. Tony stood up slowly edging towards it. Slowly opening the door only to be greeted by pure darkness in the room, the door creeked loudly as Tony pulled it open. He then stepped inside slowly.


	14. Found

_Chapter 14: Found_

Tony stepped into the dark room, something wasnt right here. His instinct told him that.

"Hello?" He called out into the darkness, He got a response. He heard shallow laborous breathing echoe threw the room. He ran his hands along the wall searching for a light switch, finally he found it and flipped it on. The lights were dim and it didnt help much on seeing things. It was like a storage area, filled with boxes apon boxes of stuff. 

"Whos here?" Tony called again, he still only heard the shallow breathing. He moved slowly through the boxes, not exactly sure on what to expect.

"Answer me" Tony shouted so anyone in the room would here. Still no answer. He then looked down at the ground, the bloody footprints at started again. He followed them slowly. His mind was spinning with questions. Then it had dawned on him, it had rained last night. That was why there was no trail in the emergency bay, it was washed away by the rain. He took a deep breathe as he continued to follow the trail, it finally stopped as he found a massive pile of toppled over boxes. Also the origin of shallow breathing.

At least hes breathing, Tony thought. He immediatly started to remove the boxes off the pile. After a few He finally managed to uncover the being. It was Jack. He was covered in blood, most likely none of which was his own, Tony thought. Jack was unconcious, his right hand limply over his throat still. Tony moved to him gently moving Jacks' blood covered hand away from his throat, much to his shock he found a long thin cut trailing across Jacks' neck.

"Shit..." He muttered under his breathe, looking for other wounds, but there was so much blood everywhere on him it was hard to tell. Tony pulled his jacket off and started to wipe away some of the blood, revealing more bruises and cuts. New ones planted on the old ones. What the hell had happened? He thought to himself. Surely the doctor wouldnt have done this to Jack. Tony moved Jack to the cement floor laying him flat, Tony noticed he was shivering. Tony placed his hand on Jacks' head to find it was burning, his had almost jerked away from the reaction of the heat. Something was definitly not right here. Tony wrapped his jacket around Jack. Then he picked Jack up and carried him back to the hostipal.


	15. Rainy Day

_Chapter 15: Rainy Day _

Tony manuvered his way out of the building, stepping back out into the alley. It had started raining again as water instantly drenched him and the unconcious Jack in his arms. Tony pulled him close trying to keep the water from getting him too wet, he then hurried off from the alley, incidently hitting almost nearly every puddle of water none intentionally.

He kept moving as quick as he could towards the doors to the hostipals' emergency bay which only took him a few minutes to reach too. He stopped infront of the doors then just slammed his foot into them making them swing open, He walked in quickly nearly slipping on the wet floor.

"I need a doctor!" He shouted, making everyone jerk there heads to him, then eyeing Jack in his arms. The nurses rushed to him with a gurney.

"Lay him down sir" One of them said. Tony listened gently laying Jack down so he lay straight, and took his coat off Jack, and laying Jacks' arms straight on the bed by his sides. Jack was still shaking, more intense then before even, Tony noted. Alot of the blood that covered Jack had washed off and onto Tony himself, staining everything. Tony got a good look at Jack now since the blood had washed itself off. He had the doctors clothing on, and amazingly they fit him. Dr. Ibly must have had almost if not the same exact build Jack had. He noticed the few holes in the clothing, the shirt was tworn up, was it like that before Jack had put it on or after.

Tony helped the nurses push the gurney into the trauma room where 2 doctors were there already. Tony was then pushed back, but not out of the trauma room as they began to work on Jack. Tony watched intentively as they literally ripped the shirt off of Jack. They were saying alot of things that Tony didnt understand, alot of medical terms. Tony took note of Jacks' torso, the bandages from before were still there, alot of them were tworn up, barely staying on, with blood leaking from them. The doctors pulled off the bandages and started to fix the new damage. There was alot more then Tony had thought.

The smell and sight of all the blood was now starting to get to him, he puleed back putting his hand over his mouth, gagging. He turned around not facing them and ran out of the room. He ran straight into the mens' room, reaching one of the stalls just in time to empty the contents of his stomach into the bowl. He took a few breathes wiping his mouth then flushing the tiolet. He stood back up slowly, still trying to catch his breathe. He moved over to the sinks and the mirror. He looked at himself, his hair was a mess and drenched. His hands were covered with watered down blood, along with his shirt. He closed his eyes tightly as he ran some water, and then washed his face. The cold water felt good on his skin, almost like relieving some of the tension and shock of what had just happened. He calmed himself down, but thoughts were still spinning through his head. What the hell had happened? That was the question that went through his head at a million times a second in his head. He just couldnt understand what happened. Jack was worse then he was before, Tony thought that was impossible, but he was. And the doctor was dead. Everyone at the Hostipal thought Jack did it, but the condition he is in now, his new wounds, that doesnt hold up to the fact that he murdered the doctor. It looked like someone was trying to kill him. The doctor wouldnt do that, Tony thought to himself. Or maybe the doctor would, and Jack was just using self defense. That could be it, but Jack wouldnt kill him even if the doctor was trying to kill him, would he? This whole situation was strange.

After a few moments Tony finally regained some of his composure and walked out of the mens' room. He took a deep sigh walking towards the trauma room. They were still hard at work on Jack, he saw this through the windows on the doors. They wouldnt allow Tony back in, and Tony didnt think he could handle being in there anyways. He then walked to the waiting room, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed Michelle.

"Dessler" Michelle answered slightly distracted with her current work. She was trying to help Tony out and find Jack, not knowing Tony had already found him.

"Hey Its me" Tony replied with a heavy sigh.

"Hey Tony, I havent gotten anything new yet, have you?" She asked.

"I found Jack..." He mumbled collapsing into one of the waiting room chairs. He placed his free hand on the back of his neck and started to rub it to relieve some of the tension in his stressed out body.

"You did? Where was he? How is he?" Michelle asked questions that had been running through her head since Tony had called her with the news. 

"I found him in the building next door, Hes not doing so well..." Tony answered closing his eyes, trying to escape the headache that he had.

"Did he tell you what happened?" Michelle asked.

"No...he was unconcious when I found him..." Tony sighed heavily.


	16. Jacks' State of Being

_Chapter 16: Jacks' State of Being_

Michelle had come to the hostipal as soon as she could to find Tony sitting in one of the chairs of the waiting room. It had been 4 hours since Tony had called her and now she had just arrived. She walked up to Tony and sat down next to him putting her hand on his back.

"Hey Michelle..." He said, his tone thick with exhaustion, it must have been a rough last few hours for him, Michelle thought. He looked to Michelle. Michelle smiled weakly as she pulled him in for a hug. They held each other for a few minutes, not saying anything.

They were interupted with someone clearing their throat to get Tony and Michelles attention. They looked up to see a doctor standing infront of them holding a clip board.

"You were the one that found Mr. Bauer?" He asked looking at Tony. Tony nodded and stood up with Michelle still holding onto him.

"How is he?" Michelle asked, obviously worried.

"He suffered a few more cuts, the worst of them was the one on his neck, we had to intibate him so he could breathe easily. He had also been stabbed by a pretty big knife we suspect in the adobmen area which caused some hemoraging, and internal bleeding. He has been taken up to surgery to fix that up. And by the looks of it he had been outside for a couple hours which only made his condition worse, he has gotten really sick. We had to put some cooling packs on him to keep his temperature from going to a dangerous level. I am almost certain if you didnt find him when you did he propably would have died" The doctor explained. 

'How long will the surgery take?" Tony asked in a quiet voice.

"If everything goes well an hour and a half give or take" The doctor said. "Let me take you up to the surgery's waiting room" The doctor lead them both up 2 levels of the hostipal into another waiting room. This one was alot smaller. There were only a few chairs in this one, alot more comfortable looking chairs. Tony and Michelle sat down as the doctor left them alone.

_2 hours later..._

Tony had just nearly fallen asleep resting his head on Michelles' shoulder as she was looking at magazines when the doctor came in. Tony was alerted as he heard the door open, he stood up instantly.

"The surgery was a success, we just moved him to recovery now" The surgeon smiled. "Let me take you to his room" The surgeon lead them to another ICU room that was similar to the old one, but in the opposite direction of the other one. Tony went in first followed by Michelle then the surgeon.

Jack was resting peacefully, the tube was still sticking out of his mouth, and the machines from before he ran off were the same as they are now. They had put some heavy restraints on his wrists though and also on his ankles, he wouldnt get out of these.

"He has to have restraints on, the police officers here said so, and they want to ask him a few questions when he comes around" The surgeon stated.


	17. Small Revelations

_Chapter 17: Small Revelations _

Tony and Michelle stayed in Jacks' room that night, trying to keep the police from coming in periodically to see if hes awake yet. They decided not to inform Kim or Chase until they figured out what had happened. They took shifts so they could get some sleep, every 4 hours theyd wait the other up and that one would fall asleep. During the night one of the doctors came in and pulled the tube out of him declaring him strong enough to breathe for himself though as a procaution they placed a breathing mask over his nose and mouth.

Early that morning Jack finally awoke, Tony instantly jumped to his side hearing the soft moan come from him. Tony looked at him as his eye opened slowly, he looked like he was in pain of some sort.

"Welcome Back..." Tony smiled weakly, Jack stared at Tony then looked over himself, sighing heavily.

"We need to get out of here..." He said trying to keep his breathing at a calm regular pace.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because They are still here...they will find me...finish the job..." He hissed in pain trying to sit up but the restraints were holding him back.

"Whose they?" Tony asked in confusion, not knowing what he had said.

"They...they killed Dr. Ibly, I tried to stop them, but i couldnt. I had to run...or else i would have been dead too" He explained yanking against his restraints.

"The police think you killed Dr. Ibly" Tony stated.

"Thats what they wanted everyone to think..." He paused as he caught his breathe, contorting more pain in his expression.

"Just calm down...lets figure this out, they wont let us move you in your condition" Tony tried to keep him calm.

"they will come to finish the job though" Jack was starting to get hysterical, actual fear was evident in his voice.

"I wont let anything happen to you..." Tony tried to reassure him. Jack pulled on his restraints only to be meet by pain, forcing him to whimper in pain and frustration.

"Ill figure this out Jack, Dont worry, Everything will be fine" Tony said patting him gently on the shoulder.


	18. Painful Realizations

_Chapter 18: Painful Realization _

Michelle had gone off to freshen up some leaving Tony and Jack alone. Jack as hard at work trying to break himself free from the restraints, getting little done. Tony figured hed break the bed completely before getting the restraints off. Tony had been trying to figure out what happened. Jack had told him in detail about what had happened, He was only trying to save the doctor but it had already been too late.

"We have to get out of here Tony!" Jack continued to pull at the restraints. Tony paced the room trying to figure out what he should do. Finally he decided, help get Jack out of here seemed the best course since the mysterious 'they' were still here as Jack had said. Tony moved over to Jack and began to untie his restraints and remove them. 

"Thank you Tony..." He smiled and stopped pulling against them so Tony could get them off faster. After Jacks' hands were free they set off on his ankle restraints. Tony was working stealthfully on one as Jack started on another, when he stopped. Tony freed the ankle he had been working on and looked up to Jack who had been staring at something from behind Tony, totally speechless and fear in his expression.

Tony looked at him confusingly for a second then realized what was going on, he slowly turned around. Seeing nothing, then felt a strong pain in his back making his knees buckle.

"Tony!" Jack shouted as he grabbed Tonys' assilant and yanked him backwards towards Jack. Tony turned around slowly and through his fogged and pained vision.

He couldnt believe what he was seeing. Jack was battling some invisible person with a huge butcher like knife in his hands. Tony tried to figure it out as Jack knocked himself to the ground and pushed the knife into his own shoulder, screaming in pain. Tony struggled to stay on his hands and knees, but finally it gave out from under him letting him fall into a small puddle of blood he had found himself in.

Tony glanced over to Jack warely, he had removed the knife and stood up slowly holding his shoulder. He dropped the knife to the floor and went to Tony, he had started sobbing.

"Tony stay with me pleasee" He begged. Tony was confused, he then finally put the pieces together. Jack had lost it. He had been invisioning these mysterious 'they' that he spoke of when really he did it himself. Jack didnt realize what he was doing. Tony then fell to the darkness. 

Jack stood up slowly over Tonys' unconcious form, They have done it again. He thought to himself, once he gets his hands on them they will all die, he thought menacingly to himself again. For now he had to get out of here though, they will think he did it again but he couldnt face 'they' alone in this condition, he had to get out of there. He quickly found his way out of the hostipal again, pausing slightly sighing for Tonys' pain, only caused more anger towards 'they'. He made his way back into the other building gripping his bleeding shoulder. They will pay dearly for this, he kept thinking to himself. Willing himself to vanish without a trace, and actually have it work this time.


	19. Shocked

_Chapter 19: Shocked_

Michelle came back after freshing up and opened the door to Jacks' new room. She was ment with a horrid sight. Blood was spread everywhere, Tony was on the ground, his back facing her. She saw the blood on the back of his shirt and also noticed the large bloody knife on the ground. She ran straight to him to find he was unconcious.

"HELP!" She screamed from the room, then glanced around. Jack was no where to be found. The doctors rushed in as well as the nurses, gasping at the sight as well. Then they regained their composure and pulled Tony onto a gurney and rolling him off to the trauma room.

Michelle walked out of the room as the police swarmed into it. She sat down and tried to think everything out. Where was Jack? was the question that kept popping back into her head. She then noticed the trail of bloody footprints. She stood up and walked over to them, eyeing them suspiciously. She then decided to follow them.

She rounded outside the hostipal and found more footprints outside leading to the street. It was dark out. She stopped dead at the edge of the street, seeing a body outline just on the rim of the streetlight. She sprinted over to it to find Jack on his side, blood everywhere underneath him. She knelt down to him, uneased by how still he was. She placed two fingers on his neck searching for a pulse.

Nothing.

She found nothing, no pulse, no nothing. Her eyes widened in shock and grief. He was dead. What had happened? This whole thing was very confusing, and now that Jack was dead what will happen? She just sat there for a minute, staring off into space, and Jacks' lifeless body but not really concentrating on it. She hadnt realized some police men had approached her. She just stared aimlessly, as the police men lead her back into hostipal as the others controled that area. She sat down in a numbed state in the waiting room.

_4 hours later..._

Michelle had came from being zoned out to be notified that Tony was awake in recovery, she slowly swayed into his room. She had a sad expression on, that was lightened up some when she went and hugged Tony. Tony hugged back then began talking quickly.

"We have to find Jack, hes not right in the head...the they who attacked the doctor, it was him, no not him, someone in his head, another personality, it took over him, and he killed the doctor...he tried to kill me too...He was fighting the invisible being...He hurt himself...we need to find him" Tony spoke rapidly. Michelle only hugged him tighter letting more tears fall. She didnt know all this, but it didnt matter anymore. He was gone now, be on help of anyone. She didnt know how to break the news to Tony.

"Michelle, we have to find jack" Tony pulled back from the hug and looked at Michelle. He noticed she had been crying, he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, knowing something else was on her mind.

"I...found jack..." She started, still not knowing out to say it, other then just saying it. "I...am sorry..." she started crying again, unable to actually say that he was dead. He just stared at her unblinkingly.

"what...?" He asked confused by what she ment, well he knew what she ment, but didnt want to face the facts. Jack was dead.

"Hes dead Tony..." Michelle shallowed hard trying to hold more tears back from spilling but failed miserably. She went and hugged Tony again, trying to comfort him. He sat there shocked for a moment then started to cry softly.

_THE END_


End file.
